Under the competition rules of the ECSC Treaty the Commission has
authorized Monks Ferry (Ship Breaking) Ltd., St. Helens (MF) to
acquire the scrap metal business, both ferrous and non-ferrous,
of George Cohen & Company, London (GCS), which is currently a
subsidiary of the 600 Group.
Both MF and GCS are engaged in the processing and distribution of
iron and steel scrap, both for the UK domestic market and for
export. MF and GCS combined will be one of the largest UK scrap
merchants, but there are larger scrap merchants elsewhere in the
Community. Scrap prices tend to be set by the supply/demand
situation on the international scrap market and MF/GCS will not
be able to pursue their own independent pricing policy.
Consideration of the proposed transaction has shown that it meets
the tests for authorization in Article 66(2) ECSC Treaty and the
Commission therefore granted its authorization.